Should I leave the house?

In North Carolina, to get a divorce, you must live separate and apart for at least a year and a day. This means that someone has to move out of the marital home. But who should move out of the house?

Usually, the party who wants to separate, and who has initiated the divorce process, is the party that moves out. Unless living with your spouse has become violent or absolutely unbearable, you really need to think before you move out. Moving out can be very expensive! Of course, divorce is expensive and someone eventually has to move out anyways.

Once you move out, not only will you be responsible for an additional mortgage or rent payments, you will have additional utility payments, transportation expenses, and additional expenses concerning any children. Consider now, for example, that you’ll also have to furnish your new residence, which may be very expensive, especially if you have to purchase additional bedroom furniture for children.

Moving out also leads to stress with your spouse about who covers what expense. The spouse who remains in the marital home, for example, will most likely still expect the spouse who moved out to contribute to the mortgage, utility bills, grocery bills, etc. This may lead to arguing and stress with your spouse.

You must also consider how you are going to deal with co-parenting now that you have two households. Divorce impacts children hard. Not only are their parents living apart now, the children are learning how to live in more than one residence. The parents are also adjusting to sharing the children and the additional responsibilities that come along with maintaining two households for their children. This can be stressful and difficult.

Additionally, you must be careful not to date before you move out. If one party hasn’t moved out of the house, the parties are not separated. If the parties are not separated, you cannot date. If you do date before one party moves out, this may affect alimony. When you are considering divorce, speak to a divorce attorney before you begin to date.

Obviously, someone has to move out in a divorce. Before you decide to move out, take time to consider the implications. This is going to affect you financially and emotionally. This will also have an extreme impact on children. Divorce is not easy. Seek a consultation with a divorce attorney before you consider moving out of the marital home. A divorce attorney will be able to give you legal advice as to how you should proceed based on your situation.

If you need legal counsel concerning divorce, please contact Adkins Law to speak to a divorce lawyer. Adkins Law is located in Huntersville and primarily serves Mecklenburg County and the Lake Norman area. 

---